Based in Oakland, CA, Oree Originol is an artist who has made work around social justice, in particular police violence against black and brown bodies. He created a poster series called “Our Lives Matter” featuring people of color murdered by the police. These posters were important parts of community organizing around #BlackLivesMatter in the Bay Area, and some posters even featured details of upcoming meetings and demonstrations.
The politics of the poster as a medium are contested. Posters are easily dismissed as propaganda or street art. They can seem too political to be taken seriously by traditional arts institutions. Because they aim to disseminate information, posters can seem purely instrumental rather than aesthetic. Interestingly, Oree Originol’s work has made its way into galleries and museums in the Bay Area, challenging this usual divide between political posters and “high art.”
